Mobile robots need to be able to operate within an environment to avoid obstacles, perform tasks, identify paths from one location to another, etc. Existing technologies require complex and expensive hardware as well as complex and computationally expensive software to perform most tasks and navigate effectively through an environment. Among many other practical drawbacks, existing systems place most robotic functions out of reach of low to mid-range robots.
In addition, when working with robots, it may be difficult to determine what a robot is planning and what it may or may not understand about its surroundings. To address this issue, some traditional systems display a limited amount of information about a robot's surroundings. When received by a user, this information may be difficult to interpret, and it may be difficult to take action on the received information.
Among other drawbacks of some existing technologies, when working with robots or other electronic or mechanical devices, it can be difficult or costly to add display panels and input mechanisms for processing, monitoring and communicating certain types of information. For instance, it may be difficult in some systems to track a status, setting or configuration modification to a robot's software.
Some solutions to this drawback include the utilization of display panels and input keypads. However, such solutions add complexity and cost to any robot or computing device. In other solutions, a robot may operate a web server and enable a view of data via the web browser on a remote computer. Such solutions, while cheaper than physical displays and input panels, do not provide a granular level of context with any communicated information. Many developments in this area have been made but most existing systems are not cost effective, particularly when it comes to low to mid-range devices.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.